Gio Ponti, Art Edition, The Planchart Coffee Table And A Set Of Four Art Prints

This numbered Art Edition of 1,000 copies (Hardcover book, 36 x 36 cm, 572 pages) is accompanied by an exclusive, square format reproduction of the Arlecchino coffee table designed by Gio Ponti and a set of four numbered ocean liner interior prints (each 40 x 40 cm, inkjet prints, printed on 305gsm Hahnemühle Photo Rag Ultra Smooth)This new book is the most comprehensive account of Ponti’s work to date, unprecedented in scale and scope. It tracks the development of his oeuvre over 6 decades, with 136 projects indexed and reproduced in high resolution, each object framed by the context in which Ponti had created it.An extensive biographical essay by Stefano Casciani, was produced in close collaboration with the Gio Ponti Archives.The square format reproduction of the Arlecchino coffee table, the "Planchart Coffee Table" is regarded as one of Gio Ponti’s most iconic designs. Echoing the pictorial approach of De Stijl artists Piet Mondrian and Theo van Doesburg, its surface relies on a vibrant structural steel grid for multiple hand-painted color combinations that vary according to the viewer’s movement around the table. Contrary to the more commonly available round design, TASCHEN is proud to reissue the celebrated piece in a square format, originally created in 1954 as a unique example for Ponti’s Villa Planchart, exclusively! Each table is made entirely by hand.The four prints are drawings by Ponti from 1948–49 now conserved in the CSAC. These prints are of valuable, fragile, competition drawings for the interiors of the ocean liners Conte Grande and Conte Biancamano, which were both launched in 1949. They have never previously been printed and are exclusive to this TASCHEN Edition. Includes a certificate of authenticity, signed by Salvatore Licitra, grandson of Gio Ponti and founder and curator of the Gio Ponti Archives in Milan.“The most resistant element is not wood, is not stone, is not steel, is not glass. The most resistant element in building is art. Let’s make something very beautiful.”— Gio Ponti.